Oregon Drops Key MPSF Match to No. 7 Stanford

EUGENE – With a conference title at stake, Alex Breiner matched a career-high with seven points, but it wasn't enough as the Oregon lacrosse team fell to No. 7 Stanford at Pape' Field on Friday.

Breiner netted three goals and dished out four assists to lead the Ducks (6-7, 3-1 Mountain Pacific). Jess Drummond balanced the UO attack with four goals while Nikki Puszcz (two goals, one assist) and Jana Drummond (one goal, two assists) each chipped in three points.

Stanford's Leslie Foard opened the scoring 30 seconds into the game on a free position attempt, but the Ducks bounced right back with three-straight goals to grab a 3-1 lead. Lara Bennett started the spurt when she scooped up a rebound and fired a shot home to tie the contest at one apiece with 2:34 expired.

Oregon took the lead at the 5:18 mark when Breiner fed Puszcz, who fired a shot past SU keeper Annie Read to make it 2-1. Jess Drummond extended Oregon's lead to two goals 38 seconds later, making it 3-1.

The Cardinal responded with three unanswered goals of their own as Jackie Candelaria curled into the middle and blasted in a shot while Carolyn Bradley and Sarah Flynn each capitalized on free position shots to put Stanford back on top, 4-3 with 14:19 left in the opening frame.

Breiner found Jess Drummond for the tying goal 48 seconds later to even the score at four apiece, however the Cardinal once again tallied three-straight goals to open up a 7-4 lead with 2:44 to go in the first half. With 1:11 remaining, Puszcz converted on a free position attempt to cut the Ducks' deficit to 7-5 at the break.

Stanford scored the first five goals of the second half to grab its largest lead of the game at 12-5. Karen Nesbitt scored the Cardinal's first three goals, Rachel Ozer expanded the lead to six and Foard capped the run 7:12 into the final period.

Breiner nearly single handedly brought the Ducks back into the game by factoring in four-straight UO tallies. After converting on a free position shot at the 8:46 mark, the senior found Jess Drummond for two goals 16 seconds apart and made it a 12-9 game by converting on a Jana Drummond pass with 18:31 left.

Stanford's Lauren Schmidt and Sarah Flynn poured in the next two goals to put the Cardinal back up five with 12:46 left, but Bina Barrett cut the deficit back to four with 8:56 remaining.

The Ducks appeared to pull within three when Breiner fired a shot home with 8:39 left, but the tally was waived off due to a dangerous follow through. SU's Nesbitt scored a minute later, starting a string where Stanford scored three of the next four goals to put the game away with less than four minutes left.

The teams combined for 77 fouls in a physical battle for first place. Stanford outshot Oregon 35-26 for the game. The Ducks doubled up the Cardinal, 22-11, in draw controls, including 15-5 mark in the second half. Both teams scooped up 13 ground balls.

Salliebeth Finnegan earned the start in goal and made nine saves on 24 shots in 51:03 in the crease. Caroline Federighi clocked 8:57 in the second half and allowed three goals.

Oregon closes out its home schedule on Sunday when it hosts MPSF foe UC Davis for Senior Day. Opening draw is at 1:00 p.m.